the richest man

The Camel Trader Of Babylon

2009-04-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

“The hungrier one becomes, the clearer one’s mind works.”

Tarkad had not tasted food for two whole days. He ran into someone he would have preferred to
avoid – the Camel Trader called Dabasir. Tarkad owed Dabasir copper and silver pieces.

“Ill fortune pursues every man who thinks more of borrowing than of repaying.” said the large
Dabasir as he sat eating in front of the famished Tarkad.

“I did hear of a traveler just returned from Urfa of certain rich man who has a piece of stone so
thin you can see through it.” “Tarkad? Thinkest all the world could look to a man a different color
from what it is? Asked Dabasir.

Dabasir, wanting to teach Tarkad a lesson or two began to tell him and the onlookers in the
restaurant how he came to be a Camel Trader after being a slave in Syria.

Dabasir borrowed from his friends and could not repay them. Things went from bad to worse. His
wife returned to her father and he left Babylon. He fell in with robbers and were taken to
Damascus and sold as slaves. Dabasir was purchased for two silver pieces by a Syrian desert chief
and became a camel tender for his daughter who is intrigued with Dabasir’s background.

“If a man has within him the soul of a free man, will he not become respected and honored in his
own city in spite of his misfortune?” “Have you a desire to repay the just debts you owe in
Babylon? She parried.

“Yes I have the desire, but see no way.” Said Dabasir.

“…thou hast but the contemptible soul of a slave. No man is otherwise who cannot respect
himself and no man can respect himself who does not repay honest debts.”

Dabasir’s debts were his enemy and he had been run out of town. If he had stood up and fought
like a man, he would have found respect.

“If I had the soul of a free man, I would force my way back into Babylon, repay the people who
had trusted me, bring happiness to my wife who truly loved me and bring peace and contentment
to me parents.”

The Clay Tablets From Babylon

2009-04-23T01:56:00.000-07:00

Alfred reports to Prof. Caldwell of the five tablets found in the excavations in Mesopotamia. The tablets speak of Dabasir and his experience paying off his debts and gaining respect as a Babylonian citizen. Alfred plans to put Dabasir's methodologies to work in his own life even though it was five thousand years hence. The tablets are translated to reveal the story of Dabas?r's return to Babylon after being a slave in Syria. Dabasir consulted Mathon the Gold Lender as to putting a plan into place. 1. Firstly, the plan provides for his future prosperity. One-tenth of his earnings were put aside for his own to keep. 2. Secondly, seven-tenths of his earnings paid for all living expenses. 3. Thirdly, two-tenths of his earnings provided a way for his debts to be paid out over a time. Dabasir visited with his creditors to let them know how he would repay the 119 pieces of silver and 141 pieces of copper. He received mixed reactions from creditors. "My heart is lighter than it hath been for some time." The tablets continue to relay the story of his gradual repayment of debts, his wife buying much needed supplies and personal effects, and his creditors slowly gaining respect for Dabasir. "My good wife looketh upon me with a light in her eyes that doth make a man have confidence in himself." "Yes it is the plan that has made my success." "I am convinced that if I follow it further it will make me rich among men." said Dabasir proudly. Alfred writes the Professor again and explains how successful following Dabasir's plan had been for he and his wife. There "is more pleasure in running up such a surplus than there could be in spending it."

The Luckiest Man In Babylon

2009-04-23T00:16:00.000-07:00